War And Pieces
BLOG VIEW: Last November, when he was still a candidate for re-election, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., came out with a much-ballyhooed proposal to...
MERS Cases: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
REQUIRED READING: There is little doubt that America is infatuated with convenience and efficiency. The assembly line, the microwave, the Internet, speed dating...
Grading The Treasury’s HAMP Reporting
BLOG VIEW: Is it me, or is the Treasury Department's monthly reporting of HAMP statistics, and all the punditry it brings, starting to...
Is There Any Viability Left In The Jumbo Mortgage Market?
REQUIRED READING: When it comes to jumbo mortgages, Jim Deitch is marching to the proverbial different drum. 'We are originating jumbo product,' says...
Trashing Tradition With Travis Hamel Olsen
PERSON OF THE WEEK: 'Take the traditional short-sale model and throw it out.' That's the advice that Travis Hamel Olsen, Loan Resolution Corp.'s...
FHA Financing Expands To New REOs
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan has announced a temporary policy that will expand access to Federal Housing...
Wabbit Season? Duck Season? No, Geithner Season!
BLOG VIEW: Last November, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, managed to get himself a Warholian 15 minutes worth of fame during a meeting of...
Uncovering The Hidden Truths In Mortgage Portfolios
REQUIRED READING: Uncertainty continues in the mortgage industry, and servicers are not only dealing with the fallout from nonperforming loan losses, but also...
Bubble Trouble
BLOG VIEW: If you begin typing 'commercial real estate' into the Google News search engine, you'll likely see 'commercial real estate bubble' appear...
During Pre-Foreclosure, Complete A New ESA
REQUIRED READING: The number of foreclosures on commercial properties continues to rise, and these troubled properties include everything from office buildings, industrial buildings...
Tyler Osby On The Challenges Facing Originators
PERSON OF THE WEEK: No one ever said that mortgage origination was an easy job, and the problems facing the industry have made...
BLOG VIEW: Something Worse Than Snooki On Cable TV
I dropped my cable television service last year, and I can't say that I regret that decision. But during a visit to my...
REQUIRED READING: Avoiding HVCC Pitfalls
In business and in life, you're much more likely to reach your destination successfully if you know the pitfalls along the way. In...
Sector Spotlight: Hospitality’s Rough Road Ahead
The leading hospitality researchers have enjoyed a long history of accurately predicting hotel performance. Comprehensive statistics gathered by Smith Travel Research show that...
REQUIRED READING: Evaluating 2009’s Milestones, 2010’s Challenges
There are many ways servicers might describe the developments of 2009, but dull isn't one of them. We know. We asked. As the...
CRE Recovery Projected For 2011
Most commercial real estate sectors will bottom out late this year before embarking on a slow recovery in 2011, according to projections from...
BLOG VIEW: Now About Those GSE CEO Salaries…
During the year-end holiday season, many people don't pay much attention to the financial news reports. This is not surprising, since there is...
BLOG VIEW: A Matter Of Principal
With the Treasury's Christmas Eve announcement that it was uncapping its financial support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac came much speculation. After...
REQUIRED READING: Understanding The Challenges Of Adding And Managing Branches
Just a year ago, some people in the industry were speculating that mortgage brokers were going to transition into bankers as loan volume...
PERSON OF THE WEEK: The StoneHill Group’s David Green On Compliance
This week, David Green, president of outsource company The StoneHill Group, chats with MortgageOrb about quality control, appraisal standards and the looming RESPA...